Madison Express continues to grow and improve its impressive collection of Garland branded cable and connectivity products, designed to both outlive and prevent impacts from local fauna.
When considering or observing infrastructure development, it’s easy to look up to view construction in progress and admire the capabilities of both people and equipment.
It goes without saying that infrastructure development is a complicated prospect, filled with many moving parts. But if one was to consider the surface below their feet, they’d discover the importance of what can be an under-appreciated component of transport and infrastructure development.
Fibre optical cables play an essential role in connecting vital technologies and services to routes that we use daily.
For Madison Express, connectivity through cable is as essential as it gets, which is reflected in the company’s vast offerings throughout the infrastructure sector. As National Product Manager George Karanikolaou explains.
“In the infrastructure space, you’ve got your small day-to-day projects and the larger projects, with every project in between often having completely different requirements and standards that we need to adhere to,” he says.
Karanikolaou says these varying specifications frequently occur when multinational companies implement a design that was developed overseas, incorporating international – rather than Australian – specifications and guidelines.
Regardless of the project requirements or specifications, Madison Express has a long history of catering for and tailoring its products for infrastructure projects of all sizes.
Karanikolaou says varying requirements can at times be a challenge. But with more than 40 years in cable design and manufacturing, he says each test is an opportunity to learn and expand.
“We’re great at being able to identify and communicate those conflicts and come up with a design that will be fit for purpose and satisfy the needs of the customer, those are the things that we pride ourselves on,” he says.
“That means that our product portfolio is always expanding, because every time you go to a project, there’s something new that we’ll find or learn that we’re able to do.
“You’ve got to ask questions and then come up with a creative solution and a compromise that works for everyone. Especially on state or Federal government projects, you need to tick all of those boxes.”
Karanikolaou adds that Madison Express’ flexibility and willingness to customise its products is just one of the many reasons why large infrastructure contractors keep coming back for more.
“We can design and tune cables to make sure that compromises are minimised. The second thing is our deliveries, it’s in our name, there’s an implication that we can deliver quickly. Regardless of the case, we’re very open with our customers on every step of the supply process, from manufacture, to shipping and delivery at the customers location” he says.
“We also don’t have a lot of add on charges considering the amount of customisation that’s allowed throughout the process. Other organisations will have additional charges for doing this or that. That’s not our way, we have a set price and present that upfront.”
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Pest proof
A big benefit of Madison Express’ product range is its ability to design fibre cable solutions that can withstand both flora and fauna, as well as mother nature.
From water protective designs to specially designed fire alarm cables, Madison Express already has a variety of products that have been developed as a result of market feedback and the demands of niche applications.
One of the company’s latest innovations similarly was derived from market feedback, which reflected the lack of suitable options made to cope with pests. As Karanikolaou explains.
“There’s strong rodent populations throughout the country,” he says. “If you’re putting fibre anywhere that’s accessible by rodents, there’s a high enough risk that it’s going to be attacked. “
“Bridges and roads these days have a lot of cabling, connecting speed cameras, monitoring systems, sensors and more back to control rooms. A lot of devices that transport authorities are using need cabling for it to exist and with a lot of roadways there’s typically large conduits that can inadvertently provide access for rodents to fibre cabling.”
Karanikolaou says tunnels becoming a primary solution for improving the efficiency and safety of transport solutions will also heighten the need for systems that can withstand rodent attacks.
“Tunnels are dark, protected and damp areas and perfect for rodent populations, which is why we’re seeing more and more demand for this type of product in tunnel applications,” he says.
Regardless of the application or environment, rodent proof fibre cabling will likely be a primary option for infrastructure development. So much so, that Queensland Transport and Main Roads established a standard for rodent proof fibre, which Madison Express now satisfies.
So, what exactly is Madison Express’ solution?
“There’s a number of different options. There’s steel tape or steel wires used as armouring around the cable. That’s not so popular in Australia, as metallic armoured communications cables need to be segregated from power cables and a transport authority isn’t going to dig two separate conduits for ‘comms’ and power,” Karanikolaou says.
“Our approach uses glass reinforced plastic as an armour around the fibre cable, which we believe is the best and most appropriate alternative.”
Madison Express’ optical fibre cable includes both termite and rodent barriers as well as two High Density Polythene jackets. Placing the termite barrier under the rodent barrier ensures that rodent attacks don’t decrease the cables resistance to termites.
On top of its performance characteristics, Madison Express’ solution is also a considered choice when it comes to potential long-term impacts on the environment and local flora and fauna.
“There’s other solutions that use a chemical additive to deter rodents from accessing fibre, but we’ve taken a stand for a number of years and it’s our view that this approach can have negative effects on both the environment, as well as safety,” Karanikolaou says.
“There’s often issues with keeping those types of compounds inside the material, as they can start to leach out into the environment. It might be preventing rodents from attacking your fibre, but the long-term effects on local fauna wildlife is something that needs to be considered.”
Karanikolaou adds that chemical additives can also pose serious risks if exposed to technicians, who could suffer dermatological impacts .
By preferring a glass reinforced plastic armouring rather than other options, Madison Express’ solution can minimise rodent damage on fibre cables while also having minimal impacts on the local environment and community.
“More and more people are starting to recognise our knowledge, skill and ability to deliver suitable solutions in this space,” Karanikolaou says. “The possibility of further expanding and improving our current portfolio is a really exciting prospect and one that will only help us to provide more suitable products to the market.”
This article was originally published in the October edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.